Mauricio Pochettino urges Tottenham to retain focus in case Chelsea slip up
Friday 3 February 2017 23:23, UK
Mauricio Pochettino has ordered his Tottenham players to learn from last season's title race and be ready to pounce if Chelsea slip up.
Spurs were Leicester's nearest rivals at the top of the Premier League last term but their pursuit ended in disappointment as they eventually dropped to third behind Arsenal on the final day.
Pochettino's side are now playing catch-up again as they sit second in the table, nine points adrift of Chelsea with 15 games left, but the Argentine wants his players to remain focused on catching the league leaders - and that means staying in second spot.
"For me, the most important thing is to be ready to take the possibility if Chelsea give the possibility," Pochettino said.
"Last season, we arrived at the last game second in the table but we finished third. If the possibility was to win the league we would have missed the possibility to win the league.
"We have to be ready. It is up to us. All that we can do is be there if the possibility exists. If not, okay. But if Chelsea drop their performance and their results, we need to be ready to take their place.
"That is one lesson we learned from last season. It is about us. If Chelsea lose, we need to make sure not another team takes our place. Now we are second, we need to keep that."
Pochettino believes the next month could define Tottenham's season and says they cannot allow injuries to disrupt their rhythm.
Spurs host Middlesbrough on Saturday, as they look to reduce a nine-point gap on Chelsea, before taking a tough trip to Liverpool next weekend.
Pochettino's men then face two Europa League games against Gent, either side of an FA Cup fifth round tie at Fulham, before finishing the month at home to Stoke in the Premier League.
"February is very important, it is a month that will mark our objective until the end of the season, every game will be massive," Pochettino said.
"It is a shame because all the injuries are for reasons we cannot manage because they are a knock here and there and a bad tackle or two.
"But it is true we have a very busy period. We have Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League and we need all the players in good condition.
"It looks similar to what happened to us when we were playing in the Champions League, when we had a few problems like this, but we hope that in this situation it will be different to what happened in November."
